Schedule has a finishing kick for Heat

February 26, 2012|Ira Winderman, Sun Sentinel Columnist

MIAMI — Thursday was like few other regular-season nights at AmericanAirlines Arena. After the Miami Heat walked off the court, even coach Erik Spoelstra acknowledged his team needed a break, time to exhale.

Yet, to a degree, Thursday's tour de force against the New York Knicks was merely an appetizer before a compelling second-half schedule that yet could rival Thursday's moment in terms of intensity and meaning.

Regular-season games with meaning? No, not an NBA oxymoron. Thursday was and so could be 10 remaining dates.

March 4 at Lakers: As will be the case for many would-be contenders, prime matchups prior to the March 15 trading deadline will be measuring sticks when it comes to keeping it together or blowing it up.

For the Lakers, this one could go a long way toward deciding the franchise's direction. For the Heat, it is an opportunity to move to 2-0 against the Lakers and plant additional seeds of doubt should the Lakers find a way out of the West.

March 13 at Magic: Orlando's final two games before the trading deadline are this home game against the Heat and then March 14 at San Antonio.

The question is whether the Magic allow the Dwight Howard drama to drag out this long or get it resolved ahead of a pair of games that will require undivided focus.

March 14 at Bulls: Based on the teams' early-season success, the Bulls and Heat likely will move forward without major personnel moves, so the trading deadline the following day should not be too much of a distraction.

Instead, it merely will be the second installment of the Heat's most meaningful rivalry, likely another matchup to be decided by the end-game matchup between LeBron James and Derrick Rose. This time, though, Luol Deng should be back, after missing the season's first meeting, the Heat's 97-93 Jan. 29 win.

March 25 at Oklahoma City: An NBA Finals preview. At this stage it is hard to view the first of the teams' two meetings as anything but, considering they lead the league with identical 27-7 records at the break.

Is there a better two-on-two matchup in the league than LeBron James and Dwyane Wade vs. Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook?

March 29 vs. Mavericks: This time Mark Cuban and entourage likely won't be buying up as many seats as the Game 6 humiliation in last season NBA Finals.

But the evil axis of Cuban, Dirk Nowitzki and Jason Terry will be back to stir up plenty of memories, and for the Heat to possibly complete their first two-game season sweep of Dallas since 1999-2000.

April 4 vs. Thunder: Round 2 against the Thunder comes head-to-head against the Marlins' home opener in their new stadium a few miles down the road. Biggest sports night in South Florida since . . . ?

April 12 at Bulls: This comes two nights after a home game against the Boston Celtics, making it somewhat of a statement week.

April 15 at Knicks: We're assuming Lin-sanity will have quieted by the time the Heat make their only regular-season visit to renovated Madison Square Garden. Mario Chalmers already is frothing at another opportunity to steal Jeremy Lin's soul.

April 19 vs. Bulls: The No. 1 seed in the East at stake in the fourth and final meeting of the season? Quiet possibly, based on the half-game and 23 percentage points that separate the teams at the All-Star break.

April 24 at Celtics: What we could have here is playoff-seeding manipulation night. For as far as the Celtics have fallen, do you necessarily want to have to open the playoffs against Rajon Rondo, Paul Pierce, Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett (assuming all are still in place after the trading deadline)?

IN THE LANE

KEY DATE: While much of the focus over the next two weeks will be on the March 15 NBA trading deadline, another key date, one perhaps even more significant for the Heat, is March 23. In the league's reconfigured, post-lockout calendar, players must be waived by that date to be playoff eligible for another team, effectively making it the buyout deadline. For players in the final seasons of contracts, such as Steve Nash and Antawn Jamison, their teams' playoff standing (or lack thereof) on that date could go a long way toward determining how much might be available to contenders looking to stock up. Recall, such was the means the Heat used to obtain Mike Bibby last season, when the waiver deadline for playoff eligibility was the traditional March 1.